Question for July 2007

Why did they put holes [gaps] in the [upright huehuetl] drums? Asked by Redriff Primary School. Chosen and answered by Our In-House Team.

Fine replica huehuetl drum from Malinalco; though beaters are sometimes used nowadays by musicians recreating the music, Aztec players used their hands (Click on image to enlarge)

The Aztecs were fine musicians, employing a wide range of instrument types, materials, pitches, tones, scales, rhythms and playing styles. Central to any Aztec musical performance was the vertical wooden drum (known as ‘huehuetl’) and the horizontal slit gong drum known as teponaztli. The huehuetl belongs to a class of musical instrument known as ‘membranophone’ because it has a skin or membrane surface to play on. The word ‘huehuetl’ means ‘venerable old [man]’ in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and the huehuetl has been called ‘the most venerated of Mexican instruments’ (Robert Stevenson).

Usually huehuetls were made of cylindrical wooden frames standing on three legs, with open spaces between the legs. Most Aztec huehuetls were covered in jaguar skin: playing with the hands on the evenly stretched skin, a good musician could get two different sounds from the drum - each tone a musical fifth apart from the other - by beating the drum either near the rim or near the centre.

Aztec huehuetl shapes became standardised, though the size could vary from small ‘huehuetl’, medium ‘panhuehuetl’ up to massive ‘tlalpanhuehuetl’ that had to be played standing up. The three legs with sawtooth edges were iconic [they became conventional] and some have suggested that they symbolised lightning. The design was elegant and also for a purpose: to allow firelighters to be introduced through the gaps to heat the skin.

All membranophone drums have to be ‘tuned’ - the skin (or ‘drumhead’) needs to be tightened ‘on the day’ to give the best sounding tone. Modern drums have metal tuning screws (or ‘tension rods’) to make adjustments easy; in the past many drums had ropes and pegs attached to the drumhead. But the Aztecs used a technology that is older still - heat. Many professional drummers nowadays will keep an electric hairdryer in the boot of their car as a back-up, and use it if necessary to tune the drumhead: the heat rises from underneath, quickly dries out the skin and in so doing causes it to shrink slightly. This drying and tightening of the skin has the same effect as stretching it, which in turn improves the tone of the drum no end. And the glowing sight of burning firelighters under the large Aztec war drums must have been particularly dramatic...!

2 At 9.30pm on Thursday January 16 2014, Michael Heralda wrote:

The $250 - $800 range for a Carved Huehuetl drum is about right. A lot depends on the carving and how the drum is constructed. Traditionally, the truck of a tree had its center carved out - this is very tie consumming. Today, many carvers will use vertical slat pieces of hardwood and glue them together forming the circular frame. Then the carver will carve symbols, glyphs, and images into the outer surface of the drum. Once you understand the time, skill, and energy that goes into the making of a Huehuetl drum you will realize that a drum like this, under a $1,000.00 is an instrument that you will appreciate and enjoy for decades.

Mexicolore replies: Many thanks, Michael, for this useful information. We would definitely second you on this...

1 At 7.23pm on Monday September 2 2013, Zoe wrote:

Ian, I found this article very interesting. The past few years I’ve been looking for someone dealing in huehuetl drums for a decent price as I would love to get one... But anyone I find wants $250-800 plus just to purchase. Do you know of anyone who sells them for a decent price?

Mexicolore replies: I’m afraid we’re very out of touch on this sort of question, Zoe, being based in England, UK. I’ll try and put out some feelers and let you know if I hear of a likely good source.